I would like to take a moment to respond to this time of racial turmoil, civic unrest, and the Covid-19 pandemic. As the country is going through all these stressors, I want to see our college united in striving for inclusiveness. As healthcare providers, it is engrained in our training to treat all people with the respect and dignity they deserve. Patients turn to their physicians for support and guidance especially during times like these.
Over the past several months, the Covid-19 pandemic found most of us scrambling to find a new normal. I know my practice volume diminished drastically due to restrictions on what I could and could not do for my patients. While trying to keep our practices viable, I know we all had to re-evaluate the best policies for moving forward. We all had to learn how to social distance, test patients for Covid-19, and treat the many disorders of our specialty with PPE and new practice guidelines. This situation is not going away anytime soon so we must all become accustomed to this new way of doing business. I feel this is something we all can embrace and succeed at to keep our patients, employees, and ourselves safe. Staying vigilant regarding the Coronavirus is going to be a necessity for many months to come. Staying up to date with the latest research and information about the virus will be paramount to practicing good quality medicine in our specialties.
To be the best in our profession, we cannot lose sight of all the other things going on in the world and our nation. We seem to be a country divided more than ever as we are grasping for some control over social issues that have plagued us from our beginning. As healthcare providers, we play a crucial role in providing stability to society. By being unbiased and accepting in the care we give all patients, we offer a sign of security for people. The incident surrounding the death of George Floyd and the subsequent peaceful protests, rioting, and violence has brought to the surface underlying systemic social and racial issues.
As we all bear witness to the results of injustices perpetrated on some human beings, perhaps as a country we can start to help to force change. Hopefully through meaningful change we can begin the healing process. Regardless of the politics you believe in, physicians have always been viewed as impartial givers of hope, and we should all strive to engage in the healing of this country.
To steal a Peloton phrase, “Together We Go Far”, speaks to all of us and encourages the responsibility for us all to help create a society where discrimination and hate is not tolerated. As citizens we can embrace and demand change. As physicians we can live by example, showing acceptance and denouncing prejudice. We should believe that we are better than what has been seen. To be the best, we need to inspire each other and be united to form an equal and just country.
Article by: Carl Shermetaro, DO AOCOO-HNS President